Kindle Developer HOWTO/FAQ

[digory]

I've started a little HOWTO/FAQ for Kindlet developers. I hope this helps people who intend to start developing for the Kindle.

NOTE: Some information in this document may be outdated, incomplete, inaccurate or even downright wrong. Please post corrections, suggestions to this thread.

A bootstrapping problem: I want to include the link to this thread in the FAQ, but as long as I haven't posted it, there's no link. So I first post it without the FAQ...

EDIT: ...and then with it!

[knc1]

Originally Posted by digory

I've started a little HOWTO/FAQ for Kindlet developers. I hope this helps people who intend to start developing for the Kindle.

NOTE: Some information in this document may be outdated, incomplete, inaccurate or even downright wrong. Please post corrections, suggestions to this thread.

A bootstrapping problem: I want to include the link to this thread in the FAQ, but as long as I haven't posted it, there's no link. So I first post it without the FAQ...

EDIT: ...and then with it!

Would you please index it at: prefix_index -> howto_index#Kindlet
Create that section of the howto_index page if it does not exist.

[geekmaster]

It would also be good to insert a license into the file (like what I use in my mobileread post signature). For documentation, a creative commons license is a good choice. Just click the link in my post signature to go to the creative commons site.

And thanks for gathering this information into a document for us.

[ixtab]

@digory: thanks for spending the effort to create this!

I seriously suggest to "outsource" this into a Wiki page though (you can create one right here at the mobileread Wiki, maybe called "Kindlet HowTo" or so).

You could start by simply "dumping" your current HOWTO into Wiki format, perhaps including a section for a simple "Hello World" Kindlet, and creating links from the known K4/K5 Wiki pages to it.

The major advantage of a Wiki page over a forum thread is that everybody can improve it, anytime, without you having to keep track of it. For a working example, check out the Kindle Touch Hacking Wiki page.

It may take off slowly, but if there is enough interesting/useful content, people will contribute and gradually make it more and more valuable.

PS: I just tried to find my post where I originally proposed to introduce a Wiki for Kindle Touch-related hacking. It was only half a year ago, and yet no search engine (neither mobileread's own, nor Google, nor anything else) would turn up anything. But that just proves my point, which led me to initiate that other Wiki page: there is a lot of information in forum posts, but it tends to get buried quickly. Let's extract and refine the important parts of that information, and let it flow into the more "durable" Wiki pages.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by ixtab

The major advantage of a Wiki page over a forum thread is that everybody can improve it, anytime, without you having to keep track of it. For a working example, check out the Kindle Touch Hacking Wiki page.

It may take off slowly, but if there is enough interesting/useful content, people will contribute and gradually make it more and more valuable.

PS: I just tried to find my post where I originally proposed to introduce a Wiki for Kindle Touch-related hacking. It was only half a year ago, and yet no search engine (neither mobileread's own, nor Google, nor anything else) would turn up anything. But that just proves my point, which led me to initiate that other Wiki page: there is a lot of information in forum posts, but it tends to get buried quickly. Let's extract and refine the important parts of that information, and let it flow into the more "durable" Wiki pages.

That is why I set up the master index and "prefix index" wiki pages. It took a lot of work on my part to get enough information into them (and a lot of begging others to contribute) before others began contributing to them. It seems that something like this needs the original author to provide a lot of content before others think it is valuable enough to support. This document looks like a great start, but it needs the attention of others who have kindlet development experience to become what it should be. Team efforts provide valuable content that may be outside the experience of the originator or the document.

[MaPePeR]

I also would like some information about:

• which classes from amazon should i put into the classpath of my eclipse.
• which is the Java-Target-Version i need to select in eclipse (i guess 1.4?)

also this thread should be named "Kindlet Developer HOWTO/FAQ" instead of "Kindle Developer...".

Also there IS already a thread in this forum, which has exactly the same topic, but burried down(but indexed in the master index), but maybe a good starting point for indexing information into a wiki page instead of just indexing links to threads.

[aditya3098]

Originally Posted by MaPePeR

I also would like some information about:

• which classes from amazon should i put into the classpath of my eclipse.
• which is the Java-Target-Version i need to select in eclipse (i guess 1.4?)

also this thread should be named "Kindlet Developer HOWTO/FAQ" instead of "Kindle Developer...".

Also there IS already a thread in this forum, which has exactly the same topic, but burried down(but indexed in the master index), but maybe a good starting point for indexing information into a wiki page instead of just indexing links to threads.

Java1.4

[MaPePeR]

Then we should provide some information how to install this jdk/jre.
for example debian/ubuntu package names.

Also a link to the Old thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102386

[digory]

Originally Posted by ixtab

@digory: thanks for spending the effort to create this!

I seriously suggest to "outsource" this into a Wiki page though (you can create one right here at the mobileread Wiki, maybe called "Kindlet HowTo" or so).

You could start by simply "dumping" your current HOWTO into Wiki format,

OK, here you are:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindlet_Developer_HowTo

Cheers

[MaPePeR]

You encourage to set mntroot rw to default, because you moved the home of root to there.

i dont think thats a good place. why not take /mnt/us or the config partition, that are allways rw.

the root is read only for a reason.

[NiLuJe]

@MaPePeR: +1. The config part is also a bad idea, because it's tiny, tmpfs, we don't really want to potentially waste more RAM by resizing it, and it produces "unpredictable" results when it's full.

[MaPePeR]

diags might also not be the best place for the root-home-folder, so there is only one place left: /mnt/us!

(I hope, that the kindle does not need the root-home-folder, because i fear, that /mnt/us might not always be mounted)

[knc1]

Originally Posted by digory

OK, here you are:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindlet_Developer_HowTo

Cheers

It isn't done until it gets indexed.
at least as an entry: prefix_index -> kindlet_index
probably should also be an entry: prefix_index -> howto_index

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by knc1

It isn't done until it gets indexed.
at least as an entry: prefix_index -> kindlet_index
probably should also be an entry: prefix_index -> howto_index

I indexed it in Kindlet and HowTo indexes.

I also added the HowTo index to the Master Index sticky thread first post.

[digory]

Originally Posted by MaPePeR

You encourage to set mntroot rw to default, because you moved the home of root to there.

i dont think thats a good place. why not take /mnt/us or the config partition, that are allways rw.

the root is read only for a reason.

Hmm, good point. An even better way would be, to create a user that's not root, and usually do things with that user unless you really must use root.